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Supporting English Language Learners through their comprehension and engagement in a text is vital if they are to come to a love of reading in English.

In preparing for a presentation on Supporting the ELL’s in our Ontario Classrooms, I was looking for current Canadian resources teachers can easily incorporate into their language arts curriculum for ESL students. One such resource I wanted to share right away was StorylineOnline. Storyline Online is a fabulous website that has popular English children’s picture books being read aloud by celebrities! How interesting. Not only can children experience a range of pronunciations by listening to books read aloud, they can increase their engagement in a text either in the class on the computer or at home.

I recommend choosing a text with a student and doing a “picture walk” with them through the book. Discussing the pictures helps students to make predictions, and it activates the schema they already have for the topic making learning more meaningful. You may want to ask them to share any experiences they have with the topic either orally or in writing. Go over any challenging or new vocabulary, idioms, slang, and cultural references in the book. Next, read it along with the student and let them have some time alone to read through it at their own pace if they’re able to do this. You can then pull up this resource Storyline Online and have them listen to the book alongside reading it. They may wish to do this a few times. Finally, choose a consolidation activity you feel will best match their learning goals and needs. This could be drawing pictures and describing their favourite part. Identifying parts of the story such as the main characters, plot, setting, etc. And one of my favourites is to have them change one of these parts and re-tell the story aloud.

Open a book on English phonics based on the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) and you will learn there are 40 phonemes (sounds) in the English language produced from either a solitary letter or combination of the 26 letters in the alphabet. However, there is some debating this number of phonemes, 40, and the discussion can be quite “phonemenal.”

English phonology is the study of the sounds that make up the English language. Very important stuff to ELL’s and ESL teachers concentrating on helping eager students improve their speaking and pronunciation.

Masha Bell mentioned there being 44 phonemes in an article written two years ago (March, 2011) by Masha Bell for The English Spelling Society.

And in a discussion prompted by the suggestion of strictly 40 phonemes, a participant wrote,

“One hears numbers ranging from 36 to 46 for the number of phonemes in English. In teaching or learning English, one can disregard the exact number and simply teach the potential phonemes that participate in the greatest number of minimal pairs or sets first, and then work down from there.” – Mxmanic

I hope you’re not reading this post to once and for all find the definitive answer – how many phenomes are there, anyway?! Because, I am not giving an answer.

Personally, I believe an answer of how many phonemes there are may vary depending on which Nation’s English in reference. Australian English varies in pronunciation from Canadian, and then there’s Britain to consider. I’m sure there’s a phoneme count difference based on culture.

Despite there not being a general consensus across the globe on phonemes, I agree with “Mxmanic” when he suggested forget about the exact number and teach the ELL’s what they need to know!

An advanced ESL student asked me this week about how she can polish her speaking (and listening) skills while studying solo. Her goal is near fluency, and I think it’s quite achievable for her – and quite formidable since she’s only ever lived in Seoul.

Already, she listens to American dramas and reviews the content with a script she’s purchased. She also plugs into English radio while she’s working or studying, keeping a notepad handy for any new words or phrases. Yet, she wants more practice speaking! The few hours a week we have together is fantastic, she admits, but eagerly wants more chance to talk.

What are my suggestions? I wanted to pinpoint ways she can speak outside of our lesson time, and learn from it – by using a speaking journal.

A SPEAKING JOURNAL – This is great for smartphone users, who already have (or can download easily) an app for voice recording. I suggested for her that instead of writing a journal, which she has done extensively in the past, she should “speak a journal.” And to keep it interesting – don’t just make it about what you’ve done today or plan to do tomorrow, even though that is very great practice. Because of her advanced English functioning, I suggested she change the topics – which focuses vocabulary, expressions, context, tone and so forth.

Here’s a step-by-step plan to get started with an ESL Speaking Journal:

Find the app on your smartphone, or get one – iphone or android. I have an android phone which came with a voice recorder, but you may want find one with more functionality.

Try recording a small clip – introduce yourself – and see if you can email it to yourself. The voice files should be able to be sent using a variety of social media popular in your country. In South Korea, my students and I send and receive voice recorded files using email, SMS, and KakaoTalk.

Now, prepare to speak! Daily. I recommend 5 minutes of continuous talking with only minor pauses in speech. Pushing yourself to speak without stopping is a great way to strive for ESL fluency. Think fast! 🙂 For the first time, talk about whatever comes to mind – about your day, what you’re doing, plans for dinner, etc. Try to flow from the past to the future, which ensures you use at least a few verb tenses.

Grab a companion journal (or a few pages from your current ESL Writing Journal^^) to write in. In this journal, start a list of potential topics to discuss, so that you can refer to it on days when you don’t know what to talk about. This is also a great place to add new vocabulary and expressions that comes up with this activity.

Day 2 – First, speak about a topic that interests you, for 5 minutes continuously, little pause in speech. For example, I love tea, so I could talk about tea for 5 minutes. In a second language that may be difficult because there is a lot of topic-specific vocabulary. Great! Along with speaking practice, “rounding out” your ESL repertoire is what you’re striving for.

Day 2 – Second, listen to yesterday’s speaking journal recording. By reviewing each recording a day later, it gives you some time to separate from what you’ve talked about so you can listen with a more objective ear. With pen and companion journal in hand: Listen for errors in grammar; Look up vocabulary words that would have been good to use; Write down expressions you liked using or would have liked to say; Think of, or look up, some idiomatic expressions on the topic that you could have used.

Once you’ve been actively keeping a journal for a week, ask your ESL Teacher if you can send her a file for a listen. She or he may be able to give a listen and offer some advice!

And most importantly, have fun. Learning a language is difficult, takes time, and there is no point in time where you can say “I made it!” Keep ESL a learning adventure and you’re bound to enjoy yourself.

If you have been keeping a Speaking journal, have tried it in the past or are eager to give it a whorl – please leave your advice and comments below!

There has been a lot popping out at me on reflective teaching practices these days, like a hint that’s perhaps telling me to learn more about this topic and to make more time for professional reflection, and among other thoughts, it’s brought to mind the important role that reflection plays in experiential learning.

Experiential learning is not only for learning within L1 classrooms, it can be applied in the ESL Classroom because it builds on the principles that when students are cooperatively engaged in a motivating project, task or experience, and then reflective or mindful of the results and how to further apply them, they are actively participating in the learning (and self-teaching) process.

More than field trips to museums, ponds and post-offices – this is a method of learning with practices that can successfully be applied in the ESL classroom.

A Touch of Experiential Philosophy

Experience-based, task-based and project-based learning becomes experiential when elements of reflection, support and transfer are present after the learning experience (Knutsen, 2003).

In the early 1980’s, educational psychologists Mezirow, Friere and others “stressed that the heart of all learning lies in the way we process experience, in particular, our critical reflection of experience.” They thought of learning as a cycle that begins with an experience, continues with reflection and ends with action (Rogers, 1996). And while thereseem to be some discrepancies in the phases of teaching (or facilitating – a word I prefer) experiential learning, I think the heart of the philosophy is satisfied with the four: Exposure, participation, internalization and dissemination.

Experiential learning begins with EXPOSURE, experiencing something, either first hand or through simulation, that is of interest to the learner and is perhaps something the desire knowing about or become interested in during the process. The educator has introduced the topic, task or project, selling students on it and highlighting expectations.

Through PARTICIPATION, the learner cooperatively participates in an experience using ESL which typically involves group work, and therefore – communication, peer-guidance, taking on roles, responsibilities and following time-lines.

Next comes the critical process termed INTERNALIZATION, where the educator facilitates reflection on the experience and encourages students to draw attention to how they participated in the process, and their feelings about it. The importance of this part of experiential learning process can’t be undervalued and it can take careful consideration and experience for an ESL educator to get students thinking and talking here. Reflection is how the student will come to learn about themselves – how they participated, what roles they assumed, what they found difficult or easy about the task/project, the challenges of group work (especially in some cultures where individual success tends to be the primary focus..ahem..South Korea).

Finally, a process termed DISSEMINATION occurs where what has been learned in the classroom is brought into the real-world. It’s hoped that the learner successfully transfers the newly acquired knowledge or assumptions from the experience into future actions and opportunities for learning.

Experiential Learning Activities for the ESL Classroom

Sounds good. A realistic experience, motivation, reflection…key words that resonate and a process that makes sense to my senses, exciting me as an educator. Great, so what types of activities would exemplify experiential learning?

Keeping in mind that the ESL educator needs to provide the situation and structure for the experience, but also facilitation for students’ reflection on the process and even on the cultural difficulties of teamwork (thinking Korean students here^^;), the lesson plan needs to reflect this. The educator can adapt lessons to suite beginner to advanced ESL learners.

Think – do my students have a need/desire to learn this? Are they interested in this? How can I pull their personal skills and experience into the project/task? How can I get their feelings invested into this? How can we reflect on it without my pushing them uncomfortably? And of course, as you may have guessed, do we have the time and tools to invest in a project/task such as this?

This list is not extensive – just something to get us thinking. Please add some of your own ideas by commenting to this blog post! ^^

Making a poster

Making a PowerPoint presentation

Conducting an interview

“Re-Branding” a commonly used product

Dramatizations

Role-plays

Journaling

Making a video

Situational English – bringing the world to the classroom (restaurant, airport, etc.)

Making a music video

Creating a gameshow

Making a mock job or travel fair where each group represents a different profession or country

Making a trip itinerary

Creating a survival English booklet

Debates

Re-writing and illustrating fairy tales

Making or joining a book club

Creating a class website

Making a social etiquette book to help travelers or business people new to their country

Writing a research paper

“Teach a class” – where they design and implement an English lesson, teaching it to the class.

Create a treasure hunt using clues (or even QR codes?)

Organizing a Fundraiser

Making a comic book

Doing a magic show

Puppet show

Examples of Experiential Learning in Action:

An adult ESL learner and business professional, participates in a classroom simulation – he’s bringing an important new client to a restaurant for small talk and a casual meeting. The students have key topics they’ll need to discuss, but mostly the conversation is unprompted. The teacher has set up a mock restaurant scene in the classroom to help them feel they’re really in the scene. They’ll video-record the simulation, watch it, and reflect upon the process with the facilitation of the teacher. They’ll hand in one page of reflective writing to the teacher next class.

A class of university students has been divided into small groups that have each been given a profession to explore and research – lawyer, doctor, anthropologist.. The class is going to give a mock job fair, with each group creating a small dramatic presentation on why others should choose their professional career upon graduation. As part of their preparation, each group is encouraged to interview someone who is really in the profession they’ve been given (the professor has already prepared the contacts with industry professionals ahead of time, who in fact, also speak English^^). Individually, each student is responsible for journaling about the process as they go along. The mock job fair day has all the groups presenting. Afterwards, the professor does a great job of facilitating the reflection process and getting the students to discuss their experiences. Many students realized that working in groups was more difficult than they expected, and some were surprised to find themselves in a leadership role. A female student who was first aggrieved to learn their group had chosen CEO when in fact she wanted Artist, came to realize she learned a lot about being a CEO and was now more keenly interested in business. They’ll journal about their personal reflections and hand in their journals to the professor.

After a recent private tutoring session with a student, I confirmed just how difficult pronouncing contractions of will(‘ll) and will not (won’t) can be for English language learners (ELLs), and more specifically perhaps for Korean learners of English.

I thought about giving a quick resource here for pronouncing the pronoun + will contractions. This is by no way an official guide to pronunciation, but can prove helpful for those who are having some troubles as my student was. If you’re looking for a quick go to pronunciation reference that includes an auditory sample, check out Dictionary.com.

Contractions of Will with Pronunciation Key:

I + will —> I’ll [ahyl]

She + will —> She’ll [sheel; unstressed shil]

He + will —> He’ll [heel/heal; unstressed eel, hil]

We + will —> We’ll [weel; unstressed wil]

They + will —> They’ll [theyl]

It + will —> It’ll [ittle]

Jennifer + will —> Jennifer’ll [-ul]

Contractions of Will Not with Pronunciation Key:

I + will not —> I won’t [wohnt, wuhnt]

She + will not —> She won’t

He + will not —> He won’t

We + will not —> We won’t

They + will not —> They won’t

It + will not —> I won’t

SungBae + will not —> SungBae won’t

Using Contractions in Conversation: I also like to remind all of my students that when speaking in conversation, using contractions makes for more natural English. For example, “I’ll see you later” rather than “I will see you later.” Conversely, you shouldn’t use contractions when writing English unless you’re writing an informal communication to a close friend.

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Knowing how to politely give advice is not only an excellent tool for making small talk, but helps ESL students establish friendships with native English speakers, engaging with them in a meaningful, friendly way.

I could probably conjecture that most Koreans are eager to make friends with an English-speaking foreigner so they can practice their English, share cultures, have an interesting time, and from my experience, perhaps because they genuinely want to show you “their Korea.” And from my experience meeting new Korean friends, there is always a lot of advice sharing. I hadn’t realized how often we native English speakers offer our thoughts and suggestions to others, especially to co-workers or friends.

I always make sure to include a good lesson or three on how ESL students can give advice.

A few of the difficulties I’ve noticed when teaching “Giving Advice”:

Advice is cultural and may not always be polite or practical when transferred to the listener’s culture. Real life example: Me – My stomach hurts today. Friend: You should try making a big dung.

It’s better to give advice that is closer to neutral rather than politically, emotionally or otherwise “fired up.” In other words, suggesting solutions that are too strange can feel awkward and create distance between the speaker and listener. Real life example: Person 1 – I am tired of riding the bus. Person 2 – Well, riding the bus saves the environment, so you should be happy about doing it.

Being polite is not easy in a second language, even with the best intentions. Native English speakers can often take offense easily (and here I’m speaking as a polite, “I’m sorry” loving Canadian). Real life example: Me – I’m feeling sick. Co-workers – You ought to come to work anyways like other Koreans do.

Some resources for getting starting in planning your lesson on giving advice or for learning how to give advice:

I often find shy students who are proficient in English much more challenging to teach than early beginners who are brave in the face of learning a new language. Trying to warm students up and get them feeling comfortable is an important task that every ESL Teacher should be or become expert at. It will make your teaching life easier and more enjoyable. Simply diving into a lesson without a group of smiling, engaged faces may prevent the not-so-social students from contributing during class.

In addition to being shy, I find quiet students are always the least likely to ask questions. Having a “free-talking” class where I’m asking all the questions and they’re doing all the answering, isn’t exactly conversation. So, here’s where the 20 Questions game is a perfect activity to bring together small groups into laughter and discussion, as well as to get students asking questions.

I love teaching conversation in the ESL classroom. Part of it must be that because the students able to “converse” in English are

better able to demonstrate their personalities, preferences, thoughts… and therefore, I get to know them better. Often it is simply hilarious to see the range of answers students feel free to share in a comfortable environment.

If you’re a conversation teacher in an English as a Second Language classroom, there may be times when you feel as though you want fresh ideas, a change in routine or some way to remain slightly unpredictable so your students remain curious as to what tricks you have up your sleeves.

Always remember to keep in mind your students’ unique personalities and language learning journey, and never underestimate how engaged they can become with the right activity!

Here is a list of 26fresh ESL Conversation Starters to move your class!

Me, Only Better – Have each student name one thing they would love to change about themselves – either physical “I want a nose job”; a personality trait “I want to be more patient.”; or any other thing they concoct.

Top Chef – Give your students a list of 3-5 ingredients, from tame to strange, and ask them what they would cook with them, using all the ingredients. How would they prepare it? Who do you think in the class would win top chef?

Time Capsule – What would you want the people in the year 2200 to know about life on Earth right now? What objects best represent who we are as people, our accomplishments, our joys and sorrows? What would your students include? A good group activity where everyone has to make a suggestion and then explain their reasons why they feel it is important. If they found a time capsule from 1900, what do they think would be in it? Change the year to see how the contents of the time capsule change.

Horoscopes – Print out the horoscopes from the day’s newspaper and everyone takes turns reading their horoscope. Does it seem to match what is happening in their life? Perhaps you could then have them write the horoscope they would love to see printed!

What colour are you? – Everyone has to write down which colour best represents them and take turns describing why. Go around the circle naming things that are that colour until the group gets stuck. Change colours.

If I won the lottery… – They should write down two of the things they would do first if they won the lottery. What does this tell us about who they are, if anything? A good intro for teaching conditionals.

What is your dream job? – People take turns describing their dream job. Why don’t they take the steps to achieve it? How would their life be different if they were in their dream job?

Biggest Fear – People share the thing they’re most afraid of. This can be fun and superficial, or can get quite serious and personal.

Genie in a Bottle – Three wishes granted! What would they choose?

Numerology – If you’re born on September 21, 1983, your number would be calculated as follows: 9 (Sept) + 2 +1 +1 +9 +8 +3 =33 … 3+3 = 6. Your number would be 6. Print out the numerology meanings of the different numbers and have the students see if they feel they’re a match to their number.

“The worst thing I NEVER did” – People love to feel they did the right thing, so have your students talk about a time when they were tempted to do a bad thing but in the end remained virtuous. Can be quite funny, and range from tame to outrageous.

Call me Pharaoh – If you were going to be buried like a pharaoh, what would you want included in your tomb? Depending on the size of your group, you may need to limit the items to 5 or less.

Bucket List – A list of things they want to do before “kicking the bucket,” or in other words, before they die. Again, you may need to have everyone go around and start with the first thing, then second round the second thing… keeps people talking. Engage listeners to raise their hand if they would do it, touch their nose if they wouldn’t, etc.

Ask me a Question – Everyone gets to ask the teacher one question that should be answered honestly (well, as honestly as you feel you should professionally). Be prepared, students love this!

Name three things in your Bedroom/Bathroom/On your desk – Make it even harder by not allowing them to repeat something that another person has already said.

Going on a Picnic – What would you bring to our imaginary picnic? One of my favourite answers ever received for this one.. “a string quartet” Yes! You’re invited! 🙂

What is your favourite _________? – This blank can be filled in by almost anything! …movie, actor/actress, hobby, thing to do before going to bed, subject in school, food, thing to share… And don’t forget to give reasons.

What was your last purchase? What was the last thing each student bought before class started? Have every student ask a question about each other’s purchases.

Maestro, If You Please – Play a piece of classical or world music, without words preferably so students can concentrate on how the music moves them. Have them write down answers to the 5 W’s – Who, What, When, Where, Why. For example: Where is this music taking place? Students share and discuss their answers. It’s really interesting to see the diversity of answers.

Guilty Pleasure – Have your students “fess up” and share one of their guilty pleasures… Okay, mine is eating raw cookie dough! I just can’t help it!

Desert Island – If you were to become stranded on a desert island in the middle of the ocean, what would you want to have with you? Have students try to narrow down the items to 6 and then 3 and then only 1! Interesting to see who chooses for comfort and who chooses for survival – or is this the same thing? 🙂 If there were only one other person they could bring on the island with them, who would it be?

Grandma’s Words – Your students should pretend they’re giving their best piece of advice for a younger generation. Have each person share their own personal wisdom and then perhaps share it as a group.

“You should have been there!” – Have students describe the best, most fun day of their life and tell us why we should have been there! Who would have liked to share in that day and why? Who wouldn’t?

I Never – A game that never gets tiring. Students take turns saying something they’ve never done, for example “I’ve never ridden a horse” or “I’ve never driven a bus,” and anyone who has actually done these things has to tell a story about it.

Whodunnit? – Everyone writes down one amazing thing they’ve done that seems outrageous or surprising. All the ideas go into a hat and people take turns pulling ideas out and guessing who has done the amazing thing.

Things – I love this game! Who has played it? Choose a topic…such as “Things you shouldn’t say to your mailman” or “Things you should eat while driving” and have students write down answers on slips of paper. Put them in a hat and take turns drawing answers (make sure to have them hide their pens!) Who wrote which answer? This is a favourite cottage game with my friends and I…

And if that’s not enough, The Internet TESOL Journal has about a thousand additional questions to get your conversation class started!

I can’t emphasis enough how the proper use of ’emphasis’ helps the ESL learner to sound more fluent when speaking English. Learning how to use emphasis properly is helpful not only in preparing for English proficiency exams such as the TOEFL, IELTS or the TOEIC Speaking Test, but is equally important for academic and business situations.

Emphasis is the word in a sentence which is spoken with emphasis, in other words usually at a higher pitch and/or accompanied by a pause in speech. There are a variety of reasons why emphasis is used. Look at this list below for some reasons.

WHEN IS EMPHASIS USED?

the speaker wants to call to attention what is most important. This is common when expressing opinions.

the speaker wants to imply or infer something without saying it directly.

the speaker is being accusatory.

the speaker is disagreeing with something said.

the speaker is being argumentative or sarcastic (emphasis is used liberally in arguing) ^^

the speaker has used inversion – in other words, changed the order of a sentence by adding a prepositional phrase at the beginning (example: SUDDENLY, the cat jumped up and scratched his face.)

the speaker wants to affirm or deny some action. (example: John DIDN’T go to school yesterday.)

LEARNING TO UNDERSTAND EMPHASIS

This is no easy task. Becoming fluent in English is all about practice, exposure and time. My husband is Korean and although is English is great, he still has difficulty with emphasis. In fact, our conversation today inspired this blog post. He said that when I speak Korean I add in English-style emphasis, when instead, I should learn to use proper Korean emphasis in all cases. I suppose I had thought emphasis to be a more universal language tool… I was wrong. There’s my ‘English-centric’ point of view creeping in again! 🙂

Since I’ve found that giving good examples is often the easiest way to “explain” something to my students, take a look below. This is excerpted from a printable worksheet I created earlier which is in a matching activity for students. You can download it here: Jennifer Teacher – Using Emphasis

Take a look at the following examples, where the bolded words are emphasized. Say them aloud and notice how the meaning, intention, inference or implication of the sentence changes.